Hinkley Point C on track to deliver huge jobs boost

EDF Energy announced last week the Hinkley Point C project is progressing well and is expected to  meet its next major milestone in 2019, the completion of the 4,500 tonne concrete platform on which the reactor buildings sit. It's anticipated the power plant will be fully operational by the end of 2025, providing 7% of the UK's electricity needs for 60 years.

“The project is making good progress and is on track to meet its next major milestone, creating more than 25,000 job opportunities. Nuclear has an important role to play in the UK’s energy future,” said British nuclear energy minister Richard Harrington in a statement.

Hinkley Point C is the first nuclear plant to be commissioned in Britain for decades with more than 3,200 people involved in the construction of  the power station near Bridgwater in Somerset.

Construction commenced in 2016 after the government signed a deal with French firm EDF and its Chinese partner CGN. The power plant is expected to provide 7% of the UK's electricity needs for 60 years.

Stuart Crooks, Hinkley Point C managing director, said unions, contractors and suppliers had all been "successfully working together" on the plant.

"Everyone working on the project should be proud of what they have achieved so far," he said.

"I am also proud of the positive impact that Hinkley Point C is having on the south west."

Peter McIntosh, from Unite union, said the plant was continuing to be an "enormous jobs generator" for the south-west of England.

"It is creating thousands of highly skilled construction jobs and EDF has already started to deliver on its commitments with over 250 apprenticeships," he said.

"Once it starts operating, it will employ a 900-strong workforce."

View current opportunities at Hinkley Point on nuclearsectorjobs.co.uk

Hinkley Point C snapshot

• Work is advancing on reactor one with completion of its pre-stressing gallery:  this structure sits below the reactor unit and will help to strengthen the main reactor building. Work on reactor two has also begun
• ‘Deep dig’ is complete for Unit 1: this vast excavation is 21m below sea level and will contain the 54m tall water pumping station
• 750 metres of underground concrete galleries are ready: these are the channels to house cables and pipes
• A 500m Jetty has been built to import aggregates by sea, minimising the environmental impact of construction
• Concrete production has already topped 200,000 cubic metres and. 5.3 million cubic metres of earth have been moved
• Work will be completed this year on the 760m sea wall. At 13.5m tall, it has been designed  to cope with rising sea levels for the plant’s lifetime
• The first accommodation campus opened on schedule with 510 beds, a restaurant and gym. Using innovative pre-fabrication techniques, it was installed in just 8 months.
• £10.6bn of contracts have been awarded with £1.3bn in the South-West and 64% of the project value is being built with UK firms
• 250 of 1,000 apprentices have been hired and 400 schools have taken part in STEM education events

Video footage and photos courtesy of EDF Energy